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With the clean-up of Hurricane Sandy underway, the networks tried to keep programming as scheduled. And so they did, with a whole slew of primetime players putting up new episodes on Tuesday after a mostly re-airings filled Monday. With the numbers in, we can start to see the size of the superstorm's impact in the ratings.
NBC
NBC won the night out of all the networks, thanks in part to The Voice. The show actually had an uptick on its numbers—taking in a 4.6 in the adults demographic—up seven percent from last week's. Though it wasn't all business as usual, as comedies Go On and The New Normal were preempted for news on the storm at 10PM, pulling a 2.9. Overall, the peacock averaged a 4.0 rating with adults 18-49—about 10.8 million viewers.
CBS
Coming up behind NBC was CBS, who returned with all new episodes of NCIS, NCIS:LA, and Vegas, which scored a 3.4, a 2.8, and a 1.7 rating, respectively. NCIS and Vegas both bellied up with an additional six percent over last week's numbers, whereas NCIS:LA stayed the same. And while the network topped everyone when it comes to total viewers (15.1 million), they placed second in the adults demographic with a 2.6 rating.
FOX
Coming in third, FOX seems to have taken a bit of a hit to its Tuesday night comedy line-up. While Raising Hope and Ben and Kate stayed the same numbers-wise compared to last week (earning a 1.7 and a 1.4, respectively), New Girl and The Mindy Project took some hits. The Zooey Deschanel-fronted New Girl fell 15 percent, ending up with a 2.3 rating, while Mindy Kaling and Co. came back from their extra-long hiatus to fall nearly a quarter of the way—21 percent of the way, actually, to land with a 1.5 rating in that all-important adult demographic. For the evening, FOX averaged a 1.7 rating with 3.8 million viewers.
ABC
And the last-picked for the dodgeball game (aww, cheer up, ABC), the alphabet network came in last with ratings down across all of its primetime shows: Dancing With the Stars fell to a series low of a 1.9 rating among the 18-49ers. Happy Endings and Apt. 23 slipped the worst of the bunch, with a fall of 22 and 29 percent respectively, to bring their ratings down to 1.4 and 1.2 adults rating each. Similarly to NBC, ABC News air a special, Sandy-centric broadcast of 20/20, which earned a 1.3 rating, giving the network a total average of 1.5 in the adults rating with 6.9 million viewers.
Could it be that Sandy had little-to-no-effect at all on the ratings, or are everyone on the east coast primarily FOX and ABC viewers? The answer may lie in next week's ratings for the same shows, once (hopefully!) electricity is fully-restored to the regions affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Are you surprised about last night's numbers? Sound off in the comments!
[Photo Credit: NBC]
Follow Alicia on Twitter @alicialutes
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UPDATE: While monitoring NBC's ratings may not be the most enthralling of games, watching as the peacock network rolls out its slate of new series is always diverting. We've watched the 2012 lineup of Chelsea Handler-inspired sitcoms and fedora-dependent dramas parade out before the viewing public, only for many of the flashier series to scamper off back to the place from whence they came. (Okay, okay. Are You There, Chelsea? is this close to scampering, but give it time, my friends.) But no matter which ones stick and which ones flop, NBC continually rolls things that make you go "Huh?" This year, we're once again doing the pug head tilt as we flip through the promising, perplexing and intriguing pilot-to-series pick-ups, just in time for next week's upfronts.
Hannibal Starring Hugh Dancy
The network has picked up ten episodes of Hannibal, a series about one of cinema's most beloved villains: Hannibal Lecter, immortalized by Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Red Dragon. Our Idiot Brother star Hugh Dancy is on board as Special Agent Will Graham (formerly played by Edward Norton in Red Dragon.)
1313 Mockingbird Lane Starring Eddie Izzard
In the 1960s, television introduced The Munsters: a life action fantasy-comedy about a family of working-class monsters (Frankenstein's monster, his vampire wife, their werewolf son, and Grandpa, a.k.a. Count "Sam" Dracula). NBC has picked up a reboot of the series, stressing the horror aspect. However, with comedian Eddie Izzard cast as Grandpa, there is likely to be a good deal of humor as well. NBC has picked up 13 episodes of 1313 Mockingbird Lane (a very apropos amount.)
Crossbones from the Creator of Luther
With cannibals and monsters on the way, NBC is covering all bases in terms of the dark and criminal: how about pirates? The network has ordered 10 episodes of Crossbones, a pirate-themed drama from Neil Cross, creator of Luther. The series is adapted from The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard, and is set in the 1700s.
Revolution Starring Giancarlo Esposito
When all of the world's electricity suddenly and suspiciously disappears, humanity is forced to pick up and start anew. Of course, easier said than done. Fifteen years after the incident, the world is overtaken by militant societies operating with guerilla warfare. When one girl loses her entire immediate family, she is forced to pick up and find a relative whom she hasn't seen since the planet lost its power. And of course, one question persists: why on Earth did this all happen in the first place?
Do No Harm Starring Steven Pasquale
Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde will be reinvented with a new, modern twist in Do No Harm. The new series stars Rescue Me's Steven Pasquale as an ingenious neurosurgeon, plagued by his malevolent, monstrous alter ego. Joining Pasquale are The Cosby Show's Phylicia Rashad and Law &amp; Order's lana De La Garza.
Infamous Starring Meagan Good
NBC is delving into the world of soap operas and detective stories with Infamous (previously titled Notorious). The series stars Meagan Good who goes undercover among the wealthy family for whom her mother worked as housekeeper when Good's character was a child. She is bent on investigating the murder of one of the family members, who was also her childhood best friend. The series also features Victor Garber and Damages' Tate Donovan.
Guys with Kids Starring Anthony Anderson
In light of the recent "Having kids is funny" theme that is sweeping the comedy world, NBC has picked up Guys with Kids, a sitcom about three friends who are new fathers, all the while suspended in their own adolescence. Star Anthony Anderson actually tried this once already as a movie: My Baby's Daddy, back in 2004. But let's hope this time around, the project has a little more to it. The West Wing's Jesse Bradford, The Sopranos' Jamie-Lynn Sigler and The Cosby Show's Tempestt Bledsoe also star.
Chicago Fire from Creator Dick Wolf
Law &amp; Order mastermind Dick Wolf has spent most of his career looking at the crime-laden streets of New York City, with a few trips to Los Angeles here and there. But Wolf's newest series, Chicago Fire, will focus on a team of fire fighters in the Windy City. The program stars Vampire Diaries' Taylor Kinney, Hawaii Five-0's Lauren German, and House's Jesse Spencer as members of a (if this is the same Dick Wolf we're talking about) entertaining but no-nonsense and dedicated fire department.
1600 Penn Starring Josh GadLike NBC's 30 Rock, which takes place (obviously) at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York, 1600 Penn is set at the house every American can recognize in a matter of seconds: The White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Along with President Obama's former speech writer Jon Lovett and Modern Family director Jason Winer, Book of Mormon star Josh Gad penned this sitcom centered on the First family, a group who turns out to be just as messed up as the rest of us. Gad will star alongside Bill Pullman (who will play the President of the United States once again) and Brittany Snow co-stars as the First daughter.
Animal Practice Starring Weeds' Justin Kirk
You had us Justin Kirk, but just to humor NBC, let's dig into the details. Kirk stars as a vet (as in an animal doctor, not a guy who runs the pancake breakfasts at your church) who tends to side more with the animals he operates on than their owners. Tyler Labine (Reaper) and Bobby Lee (MadTV) costar, but they'll have to wrestle for screen time because Kirk's animal hospital will also include a monkey, presumably in a tiny white lab coat. Go On Starring Matthew Perry The series sounds promising enough — a sportscaster who suffers a great loss finds solace in his support group — just imagine the Former Mr. Chandler Bing as the smug sports guy finally coming to the conclusion that it's okay to get something out of group therapy. However, we've seen this before. In fact, it's almost too familiar. This series is practically an evolution from the last two series Perry tried to get off the ground: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Mr. Sunshine. He's a flippant sportscaster dealing with loss; it basically offers to combine the gravity of Aaron Sorkin's SNL-inspired dramedy with the silly, quippy nature of Mr. Sunshine. That sounds like a perfectly adept progression... now let's just see if it sticks. The New Normal from Creator Ryan Murphy From the creator of Glee and American Horror Story comes a regular family sitcom about a gay couple (The Hangover's Justin Bartha and Book of Mormon's Andrew Rannells,) their surrogate (Georgia King) and their children. Ellen Barkin co-stars as the surrogate's (hopefully delightfully icy) mother and Murphy favorite NeNe Leakes (The Real Housewives of Atlanta) has secured a recurring role. No matter what happens with Leakes and Queen Barkin, there's no way the perfect pairing of Bartha and Rannells won't be worth tuning in at least once. Save Me Starring Anne Heche Anne Heche may have earned her designer shoes by heading up series like Men in Trees and earning roles on Hung and Ally McBeal, but she still can't manage to escape the stigma of her mental breakdown in 2000. Still, we've got to give the girl kudos, because she's getting back on the horse — by playing a woman doing the exact same thing. Heche stars as a woman in a broken marriage who decides to better herself, and produces miracles along the way. It's always a risk bringing miraculous happenings into play on a sitcom, but the quirky Heche might be just the girl to do it. Revolution from J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke Not satisfied with past attempts to capture the post-apocalyptic mindset on television, Revolution attempts to traverse the territory for NBC. The series will follow a group of survivors (including Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito and Twilight's Billy Burke) as they struggle in the new American landscape bereft of technology and civil order. Sure, it sounds a little like Cormac McCarthy's bestseller The Road, but with a sizeable ensemble cast like Revolution's, there will be plenty of series-worthy drama to weave into the otherwise bleak landscape.
More:
Matthew Perry's NBC Series a Go Bill Pullman Gets Presidential (Again) With NBC Giancarlo Esposito Joins J.J. Abrams' Revolution
[Image: Daily Celeb]

Top Story: Travel Agent Sues Jackson
Travel agent Cynthia Montgomery is suing Michael Jackson for failing to pay the tab for the private jet that brought him from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara where he was arrested on child molestation charges, The Associated Press reports. Montgomery is suing for $50,000 in damages stemming from Jackson's failure to pay the $18,000 fee for the chartered XtraJet that flew the singer to Santa Barbara. According to her lawyer, Robert T. Moore II, during the three years Montgomery managed Jackson's travel arrangements she often paid travel fees up front with the singer paying her back later. Moore said at a press conference, "They told us in so many words that we're not going to get paid." In response the question of why Montgomery would pay for travel arrangements herself Moore replied, "Michael Jackson is kind of a slow pay and XtraJet would not deliver the jet without payment up front." Jackson is currently suing XtraJet over the cameras that secretly videotaped Jackson and his lawyer Mark Garagos as Jackson flew to Santa Barbara November 20th. Garagos won a temporary restraining order preventing XtraJet from releasing the in flight tapes.
Sex To Hit Theaters?
Michael Patrick King, executive producer of HBO's hit sex and relationships comedy Sex and the City, is in talks to bring the show to the big screen for HBO's theatrical wing, AP reports. Stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis are also in talks to reprise their roles as 30-something New Yorkers who navigate dating, careers, marriage, and of course, sex. The film would pick up where the series finale, which airs this Sunday on HBO, leaves off.
Tonight Show Gets "Stern" New Announcer
Former Howard Stern radio show provocateur "Stuttering" John Melendez will be the new announcer for The Tonight Show hosted by Jay Leno, AP reports. The show's current announcer, Edd Hall, is leaving the show after 12 years to pursue film roles. Melendez will serve as announcer as well as correspondent for the top late night show, getting involved in comedy sketches and interviews with people on the street. Melendez is apparently taking voice classes to help improve his announcing skills. On Stern's radio show, Melendez is known for his ability to embarrass the people unlucky enough to be interviewed by him, though he will reportedly tone this skill down for Leno's Burbank, CA-based show. Executives at The Tonight Show chose Melendez after seeing him on the ABC reality show I'm a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here.
Supermodel Campbell Takes Case to House of Lords
In an effort to reinstate a ruling in her favor regarding UK privacy rights, Naomi Campbell has taken her case to the House of Lords, the highest court in England, Reuters and AFP report. Campbell, 33, successfully sued The Daily Mirror in 2002 over printing a report about her attending a Narcotics Anonymous meeting along with photos of her leaving the meeting. She was awarded 3,500 pounds when the court found the paper to be in breach of confidentiality and the Data Protection Act. The ruling was then overturned by the Court of Appeal, which ruled Campbell must pay the newspaper's 350,000 legal fees. The court agreed with the Mirror's contention that Campbell lied when she said she was not struggling with drug addiction and publishing photos of her leaving the NA meeting was "justifiable in the public interest". The hearing in the House of Lords is expected to last two days.
Peacock and Eye Win Sweeps
NBC and CBS have swept the second week of the four week February sweeps period during which networks vie for ratings to lure advertiser cash later in the year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. NBC's final season of Friends and the Donald Trump reality show The Apprentice scored high ratings, earning the network a 12.6 million viewer average. NBC's "Must See TV" was outpaced by CBS which won an over 14.2 million viewer average with CSI taking in a jaw-dropping 30.9 million viewers Thursday night, marking the highest ratings for a show this season. Fox also did well with American Idol, nighttime soap The O.C., and reality show My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancée. ABC only managed to rustle up an 8.3 million viewer average with their Extreme Makeover: Home Edition leading the way. UPN and WB did well with America's Top Model and Everwood respectively.
Raymond Loved By Top Markets
Syndication rights for the hit CBS comedy Everybody Loves Raymond are being gobbled up by Fox-owned stations, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show is in its second syndication cycle meaning syndication rights are being renewed or purchased by addition stations. The first syndication deals were struck in 1998 with the newly signed deals taking effect in 2008. Though the cost of syndication rights were not released, it is estimated that they are at least $4.4 million for the national rights, double the cost for the first cycle in '98. Everybody Loves Raymond is currently in its 8th season.
Beastie Boys Back in June
New York rap trio Beastie Boys are putting the finishing touches on their new album to be released in June, Rolling Stone reports. This is the first album for the group since their wildly successful 1998 release Hello Nasty, which has sold 3.8 million copies since its debut. The Beasties began writing songs for the new album as far back as 2001 and recorded some of the tracks in 2002. Grand Royal, the label that released the Beastie's Check Your Head and Ill Communication has run into financial troubles of late, going bankrupt in 2002. It is currently for sale online with a starting bid of $10,000.
Role Call: Hornet Stings Smith; It's Open Season on Kutcher and Lawrence
Writer/director/New Jersey comic book store owner Kevin Smith is set to direct a big-screen adaptation of the comic book The Green Hornet for Miramax, AP reports. Hornet started out as a radio serial in the '30s and later spun off into a comic book. In the '60s it was made into a show starring Van Williams as Britt Reid, millionaire by day, cr

Top Story
A throng of celebrities will participate in the upcoming 16-part public TV show Freedom: A History of Us, which will air in January. The series will feature Julia Roberts, Anthony Hopkins, Angela Bassett, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams reading from personal historical accounts, Variety reports. The series is based on the controversial textbooks written by amateur historian Joy Hakim in the 1990s. President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will give the show an on-air introduction.
Celebs
'N Sync band member Lance Bass has received informal word from the Russian space agency that he has qualified as physically fit to fly aboard a rocket flight to the International Space Station, Reuters reports. Bass, 23, is expected to start flight training on Monday at the cosmonaut center in Russia's Star City.
Sylvester Stallone's wife, Jennifer Flavin Stallone, has given birth to their third child, The Associated Press reports. Scarlet Rose was born Saturday at a Los Angeles hospital, weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces. The couple already has two daughters, Sophia, 5, and Sistine, 3.
Longtime Hollywood couple Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins may perform in an Irish production of a play based on the Sept. 11 attacks. According to Reuters, the couple has agreed in principle to appear in The Guys at Dublin's Peacock Theatre in late August. The play is based on the experiences of Anne Nelson, a professor at Columbia University's journalism school.
Elton John has resigned as chairman of Watford, a British soccer team, after a 25-year association with the club, Reuters reports. John said in a statement on the club's Web site, "With the huge changes taking place in [soccer], it is obviously necessary for the board to be led by a chairman who will be able to devote more time to the club than I have been able to." Watford finished in 14th place last season.
Casting Call
Former Law &amp; Order star Angie Harmon has been cast as a trainer of teen spies in MGM's upcoming kids movie Agent Cody Banks slated for release next summer, Variety reports. The film will also star Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz and Hilary Duff of Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire.
In the Biz
British director Jonathan Glazer, who helmed Sexy Beast, has signed on to shoot the remake of the Japanese film Chaos for Universal Pictures, Variety reports. The film centers on a grifter drafted to stage the kidnapping of a wealthy businessman's wife. Robert De Niro and Benicio Del Toro are in talks to star in the project.
Tube News
A half-hour reality series based on Anna Nicole Smith will premiere on E! in August. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Anna Nicole Smith Show will take a glimpse into Smith's daily life and include her 16-year-old son, Daniel, her lawyer Howard K. Stern and assistant Kim.
The FX cable channel and Artisan Television are developing a two-hour TV movie based on American Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh. According to Variety, the film, tentatively titled American Taliban, will attempt to explain what motivated Lindh to fight for the Afghan extremists. If the project gets greenlighted, it wouldn't bow until 2003 at the earliest.
Music News
It looks like Sharon Osbourne will host the VH1 broadcast of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee concert on June 3. The all-star performance will feature Sharon's husband, Ozzy Osbourne, plus Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin and Paul McCartney. VH1 will air highlights of the concert, which will take place in the garden of Buckingham Palace in London, on June 9.
Rocker David Bowie may be embarking on a world tour in the near future, but not this year. In a journal posted on his official Web site, Bowie said he is often asked about doing a full-blown world tour and commented, "I have a real need to keep writing this year, and I always go with my gut feeling for what is right. Next couple of years, though? Who knows?"
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich was sued for breach of contract by former business associate Tim Duffy in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, LAUNCH music reports. Duffy claims that, last summer, Ulrich forced him from his role as managing member of The Music Company, a now-defunct boutique label the two formed in 1996.
In Memoriam
Mildred Wirt Benson, the original author of the Nancy Drew mystery series, died Tuesday at the Toledo Hospital in Ohio. She was 96. Benson wrote countless books and stories but is best known for creating Nancy Drew, a series that sold more than 200 million books in 17 languages and spawned a TV series. She wrote 23 of the 30 original stories using the pen name Carolyn Keene.

Hello, NBC is not weak.
At least not in last week's prime time Nielsen Media Research, anyway. The peacock network came in second to CBS and first among young audiences, largely due to the performance of the new hit game show The Weakest Link and its acerbic host, Anne Robinson. Its ranking makes the show NBC's "most watched series behind ER.
The show's premiere last Monday drew 15.1 million viewers, a number that increased to 17.5 million on Wednesday. Viewership slipped back to 14.1 million this past Monday, April 23. However, with such a strong opening, NBC announced Tuesday it's ordering 13 more episodes, bringing the total to 26 shows.
NBC also removed the XFL, most assuredly their "weakest link," from the Saturday night lineup. The championship game played last Saturday rebounded a tad from the ratings doldrums, but the show is still one of the lowest-rated programs out there. Time to say goodbye.
With the success of The Weakest Link, NBC is also considering launching a syndicated version to air weekdays, with Ellen DeGeneres and Survivor's Richard Hatch as possible hosts.
"I'm thrilled it's transplanted better than we could've possibly hoped" host Anne Robinson told USAToday.com on Tuesday. She commented that American contestants are less modest than the British, and "that makes it feistier, which I think is fun." However, she is aware of the burnout factor that could occur if the show airs more than once a week, which is what has happened to ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire. She'd prefer to stick to the Monday night schedule.
The Queen of Mean is also enjoying her notoriety-and seemingly growing popularity--even if some of her critics think she is a waste of time. And she can't keep her mouth shut. She publicly responded last Wednesday to one critic, sending a letter to the New York Post's TV critic Adam Buckman, who called Robinson "rude" and "a disaster." Buckman only replied, "Why don't you go buy some contaminated meat?"
It didn't end there.
She retaliated by calling Buckman on the phone. In the transcript of the call, which the Post printed on Friday, Robinson repeatedly asked Buckman what he didn't like about a show that got a 21 percent share, saying that he obviously was not in "tune with the public."
His answer: "Because I don't like the way you come here with your ill-mannered British quiz-show hosting ways and besmirch the reputations of our great television shows and our wonderful game-show traditions that we have here in broadcasting in America." Well, O.K., then.
Regardless, Robinson is cashing in on her newfound fame. She and her husband are leaving their middle-class lifestyle and lavishly renovating their cottage in Gloucestershire with an indoor swimming pool and tennis courts, the Post reports. She is also looking to buy houses in Los Angeles and New York. Robinson is also reportedly shopping a big-bucks autobiography, chronicling her career and personal life, including a bout with alcoholism.
Not bad for a day's work, but she should be careful with American audiences-they can be fickle.

As reality and primetime game show programming booms, the networks are scrambling to fill their slates with the latest and greatest.
Not just because the shows pulls in the ratings. The networks need a final answer to the looming writers and actors strikes.
Each major network has made serious plans to include this relatively cheap but very popular form of programming in their schedules. This ranges from the tired and true shows, such as ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire and CBS' Survivor, to NBC's newest game show entry The Weakest Link and Fox's Boot Camp.
These shows will not be affected in the event of the strikes. The programming would easily fill spots left empty by sitcoms and dramas -- and television audiences can't seem to get enough of them.
Here's a look at what's coming up:
NBC
The Weakest Link This widely popular game show in Britain is finally getting its U.S. airing this week at 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The contestants play as a team in seven rounds of rapid-fire questions to win money. If a player is considered "weak," he or she is voted off. Only one contestant will walk away with the money.
The show's host, Anne Robinson, has been called a British Cruella De Vil because of her sharp tongue and nasty comments to the players. The marketing surrounding the show has been relentless, with half the nation already quoting, "You ARE the weakest link. Goodbye!"
Lost!: Three pairs of strangers are let loose in New York City with few essentials and little cash. They must find their way back to the starting point to win the game.
Jeff Zucker, NBC's new entertainment president, told the Hollywood Reporter that the Peacock network is ready to step up its reality and nonfiction development. Zucker and West Coast president Scott Sassa are aware of the need to deliver reality programming in keeping with the network's upscale image, he said.
"We're not going to do reality shows just because we don't have any on the air right now," Zucker said. "We're fully conscious of the network's profile."
CBS
Survivor: The juggernaut that is Survivor continues to build momentum as the second installment, surviving in the Australian Outback, repeatedly beats its competitors in the 8 p.m. Thursday timeslot. The network is nearing production on a third installment, its location still be announced.
The Tiffany Network also is developing several more reality-based shows, including an updated, more innovative version of last year's Big Brother. The show features a group of people who must stay in a house and be watched 24-hours a day.
According to sources close to the network, The Amazing Race also is in development. Eleven couples race around the world. The first to cross the finish line wins $1 million.
CBS is preparing for the strikes with reality programming, miniseries and made-for-TV movies. But based on a study conducted by New York-based advertising agency TN Media on how the strikes will effect television viewership, Stacey Lynn Koerner, the agency's vice president of broadcast research, told The Associated Press: "CBS is more of a mystery. It's hard to tell whether they're less prepared or whether [CBS president] Leslie Moonves is holding things close to the vest."
ABC
Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Even if the ratings are down overall, this popular game show with the tireless Regis Philbin remains ABC's top-rated program. Recently, it received a major boost in ratings when one contestant won more than $2 million, the biggest prize ever won on a television game show.
The Mole: ABC's reality show, which aired earlier this year, did not do half as well as Survivor, but did well enough to warrant a second installment. In the show, a group is stranded and must survive. At the same time, the group must discover who among them is a "mole," someone who sabotages plans.
ABC also is developing The Runner, an interesting concept loosely based on the sci-fi story by Stephen King. This would includes the use of Internet. The premise: a contestant who will win $1 million if he or she can travel around the country for 28 days without being caught. The catch is viewers can participate via the Web site by finding clues on the player's whereabouts. If a viewer becomes an "agent," by signing up on the Web site and help "catch" the contestant, they will win prizes.
According to the TN Media report, ABC looks the best at riding out the storm if strikes were to happen. With Millioniare on four times a week, plus the two reality programs and NFL's Monday Night Football, the network may not have to show as many reruns.
Fox
Boot Camp: Even as CBS is suing the show, calling it a Survivor rip-off, the ratings are strong. Regular folks are faced with extreme challenges, all the while berated by an irate drill sergeant. The third episode, which aired Tuesday, won its time slot. Expect a second edition of Boot Camp next year.
Temptation Island: The somewhat amoral but hugely popular reality program, which aired earlier this year, will return. The premise: couples are sent to a romantic and remote location to be "tempted" by strangers of the opposite sex.
Fox also could be sitting pretty during the strikes. It will not only have Temptation Island 2 but will be airing the baseball playoffs and World Series, as stated in the TN Media report. The network has stockpiled at least 55 episodes of new series.
Koerner doesn't anticipate a long strike doing lasting damage to the business as a whole.
"Viewers love television," she said. "They may get annoyed for the period of time that their favorite shows are off the air, but once they're back on the air, they will come back."
And viewers have the added bonus of watching a lot of regular folk doing outrageous things for roughly a $1 million to look forward to.